Arkstfan Post On Wac Commish Teleconfrance

[Harry]

Bulldog Barks & Bytes adminstrator Dwayne of Minden has been a pro-SBC supporter for the Bulldogs if and when the WAC went wacky and folded.

I wonder if they would change their mind if the SBC became the, uh.............Big 14 Conference? (formerly the SBC)

Hey! 2 kook brothers in North Carolina once thought they could build a flying machine so a conference name change to create a better perception(?)among the national media is peanuts comparatively.

Yet...........IMO, LaTech will hold out for CUSA until New Orleans, a once great USA city is underwater and I believe that more than life itself; well, maybe not that melo-dramatic.

GMG!

PS: And I pray NO's never is underwater in spite of where they built their city.

I would hope that calmer heads prevail. Tech would be a good addition to the SBC.

[GrayEagle]

I wish that there was a way to drop ULM and add Utah State, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech.

The first two have been in the FBS equivalent longer than North Texas and La Tech has been in the top classification for about 30 years. All three have strong basketball.

I lost patience with ULM when less than 9,000 paid to see the game last Saturday.

I know. I haven't been happy with the attitude of the Techsters and the Utags but both would add to the SBC overall and all are former members.

[stebo]

I wish that there was a way to drop ULM and add Utah State, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech.

The first two have been in the FBS equivalent longer than North Texas and La Tech has been in the top classification for about 30 years. All three have strong basketball.

I lost patience with ULM when less than 9,000 paid to see the game last Saturday.

I know. I haven't been happy with the attitude of the Techsters and the Utags but both would add to the SBC overall and all are former members.

I am right there with you. ULM frustrates me so much. They have the lowest budget in the Belt (around $8.7 million a year) and have done nothing to up their game over the last decade. Spending money isn't everything - but as we have seen with Troy, MTSU, and now FIU - the schools that invest the most will always rise to the top. Even Ark State has brought their budget up to a respectable $12 million annually and they are facing serious state budget cuts.

If I were WW, I would invite NMSU only for now - and ask the conference presidents to pass a bylaw amendment similar to CUSA that requires members to have a minimum of a $12 - $15 million dollar a year athletic budget. ULM would go away within a few years (just like UNO and Denver did when the Belt passed the minimum sponsored sports amendments) and at that point La Tech could join with their head held high.

I just cannot see La Tech joining the conference with ULM in it - they can't stand one another and Tech is trying to play with like minded schools that are willing to make a real financial commitment to Div I football. I saw the crowd shots for the game on Saturday and I doubt that 9,000 people even paid to see that game. It's really sad because Monroe is in bowl contention under first year coach Berry so they can't argue that the fans are tired of the coach or that they are having a down season or whatever - their fans just do not care. I am going to guess that the excuse would be that hunting season just started. Pretty redonk. ULM is a scrappy school with a great little team but (financially) they are not Div I FBS material.

[Arkstfan]

I would hope that calmer heads prevail. Tech would be a good addition to the SBC.

The first step is for La.Tech to apply. How do they take that step? They've spent years boasting about separation and the superiority of the WAC, they threw a WAC member under the bus and cost them a bowl just avoid playing a Sun Belt team in a bowl in 2001 (ie. North Texas) scuttling a deal that would have given MTSU and Boise a bowl trip. Tech preferred losing money going to Boise for a beating by Clemson over playing in New Orleans. They threatened to decline an invite to the Independence Bowl in 2008 lest ULL or Arkansas State be invited. Their past AD insulted ULM's academics and had to drive to Monroe with the president to apologize in person to avoid losing ULM games in multiple sports. This is just the official stuff without worrying about the message board crap. Tech officials mocked Waters prediction that the WAC would eventually collapse and Dewayne from Minden took up that theme boasting that the New Orleans Bowl would fold in a couple years and it would be the Sun Belt that collapsed. Who was correct?

They've had the same president through all of that.

Tech isn't likely to apply because they understand they are painted into a corner that they painted. Their president has to back off a decade of trashing the conference and privately mocking the prediction the WAC would fail. While belittling the league for its limited post-season appearances, they had a hand in the league missing two post-season appearances.

Tech can apply to the league we have or they can hang out with the rest of the Big West/Sun Belt/Southland schools of their league and wait for a CUSA invite while declaring that the Sun Belt with more BCS money and more TV money is doomed to fail.

[VideoEagle]

The first step is for La.Tech to apply. How do they take that step? They've spent years boasting about separation and the superiority of the WAC, they threw a WAC member under the bus and cost them a bowl just avoid playing a Sun Belt team in a bowl in 2001 (ie. North Texas) scuttling a deal that would have given MTSU and Boise a bowl trip. Tech preferred losing money going to Boise for a beating by Clemson over playing in New Orleans. They threatened to decline an invite to the Independence Bowl in 2008 lest ULL or Arkansas State be invited. Their past AD insulted ULM's academics and had to drive to Monroe with the president to apologize in person to avoid losing ULM games in multiple sports. This is just the official stuff without worrying about the message board crap. Tech officials mocked Waters prediction that the WAC would eventually collapse and Dewayne from Minden took up that theme boasting that the New Orleans Bowl would fold in a couple years and it would be the Sun Belt that collapsed. Who was correct?

They've had the same president through all of that.

Tech isn't likely to apply because they understand they are painted into a corner that they painted. Their president has to back off a decade of trashing the conference and privately mocking the prediction the WAC would fail. While belittling the league for its limited post-season appearances, they had a hand in the league missing two post-season appearances.

Tech can apply to the league we have or they can hang out with the rest of the Big West/Sun Belt/Southland schools of their league and wait for a CUSA invite while declaring that the Sun Belt with more BCS money and more TV money is doomed to fail.

In fairness, wasn't Dewayne the one who analyzed the financials a couple of years ago and pointed out Tech couldn't sustain WAC membership if the WAC was not placing a school in a BCS bowl on a regular basis.

You can find a picture of the La Tech president on line by using the search term "bastard from Hell."

Edited November 23, 2010 by VideoEagle

[Arkstfan]

I wish that there was a way to drop ULM and add Utah State, New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech.

The first two have been in the FBS equivalent longer than North Texas and La Tech has been in the top classification for about 30 years. All three have strong basketball.

I lost patience with ULM when less than 9,000 paid to see the game last Saturday.

I know. I haven't been happy with the attitude of the Techsters and the Utags but both would add to the SBC overall and all are former members.

Utah State isn't feasible. Way too much travel.

I'm fine with Tech if they find the courage to apply.

As for ULM, when Tech said no they said yes and took football only. When we had to add full members to stay FBS, we passed on ULM but Tech didn't ride to the rescue. When the WAC raided the western Sun Belt, Tech didn't ride to the rescue and ULM was essential to not being where the WAC is today.

I just have a problem with booting one school in a university system that has been there for us for another member of the same system that has not only not been there at our time of need, they've screwed our members from having post-season opportunities.

[TheTastyGreek]

Utah State isn't feasible. Way too much travel.

I'm fine with Tech if they find the courage to apply.

As for ULM, when Tech said no they said yes and took football only. When we had to add full members to stay FBS, we passed on ULM but Tech didn't ride to the rescue. When the WAC raided the western Sun Belt, Tech didn't ride to the rescue and ULM was essential to not being where the WAC is today.

I just have a problem with booting one school in a university system that has been there for us for another member of the same system that has not only not been there at our time of need, they've screwed our members from having post-season opportunities.

Plus a woefully inadequate one.

[PlummMeanGreen]

In fairness, wasn't Dewayne the one who analyzed the financials a couple of years ago and pointed out Tech couldn't sustain WAC membership if the WAC was not placing a school in a BCS bowl on a regular basis.

You can find a picture of the La Tech president on line by using the search term "bastard from Hell."

Yes, DeWayne of Minden did just that and having been a frequent visitor to their message board during that time he was suggesting that it might be the SBC that would one day be their only option. Of course, the Mogen David 'Dawg choir wanted no part of Dewayne talk on that subject.

Wasn't that long ago on this board that a hardy handful of us wanted UNT to at least put the numbers together for a look at WAC membership with most of us only wanting that if ASU and U of L were part of an East Division (which would include La Tech, of course).

All bets were off as soon as the WAC started to crumble, especially losing their flagship and BCS bowl-buster school Boise State: End of WAC discussion.

The WAC was once a proud league that even during the 80's I wish we could have been part of instead of the NCAA purgatory of NCAA 1-AA we spent 12 long years of which our UNT students bailed us out of that with a referendum vote to expand Fouts to 30,500 and our meeting NCAA D1-A criteria in 1994.

Edited November 23, 2010 by PlummMeanGreen

[Arkstfan]

Yes, Dwayne actually projected Tech would go financially bust earlier but Boise's BCS runs have pushed back those dates.